(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
Arizona State’s matchup with previously unbeaten No. 3 Oregon State Sunday came down to momentum. The Sun Devils controlled it all, largely due to their defense.
The Sun Devils’ emotional spark plug Kiara Russell made her presence known in her first game back from a foot injury, forcing Beavers redshirt junior guard Destiny Slocum into two turnovers with hard ball pressure in the first quarter.
There was more of the same in the second quarter. The Sun Devils kept high and heavy pressure on Slocum, actively denying her passing angles when she picked up the ball and guarding her full court.
That early pressure set the tone for the rest of the contest.
ASU forced 15 turnovers, and Oregon State’s offense, which averages upward of 70 points per game, struggled to adjust to the varying defensive capabilities of ASU’s individual players. The Beavers scored a mere 47 points in total.
The Sun Devils’ starting lineup most often features Russell and senior guard Reili Richardson, a duo who cause havoc with their pesky on-ball defense. Along with the guards, is Ja’Tavia Tapley, a big with the quickness of a guard. ASU’s bench features the size, length and versatility of Iris Mbulito and Eboni Walker, as well as Sara Bejedi’s on-ball prowess.
Oregon State runs plays that are dependent on their guards’ ability to enter the ball to the wings to initiate their offense. That is why ASU’s length and ability to deny the off-ball offensive players was imperative.
“I think we disrupted them, and I think we took them out of rhythm,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said following the second-straight victory over a top 5 opponent.
The Beavers couldn’t put their shooters Aleah Goodman and Mikayla Pivec in position to score. Oregon State, who shoots 36 percent from the three point line overall for the season, only shot 10 percent from the arc against ASU. And, when Oregon State’s ball-handlers like Slocum and Pivec tried to get to the rim, players like Bejedi and Jayde Van Hyfte stepped up to take charges.
The Beavers’ largest lead was 4-0, in the first quarter. In the fourth quarter, just after Oregon State tied the game on a Slocum 3-pointer with 2:40 to go, ASU’s defense came up with the biggest plays of the game.
Ja’Tavia Tapley deflected a Mikayla Pivec post entry pass, and proceeded to score a tough layup in traffic on the other end. Then, Pivec dribbled the ball off her foot while under pressure from Iris Mbulito.
Oregon State didn’t score again for the rest of the contest.
“There’s not a great team that’s not a great defensive team, it doesn’t exist,” Turner Thorne said. “Our team knows if they work really hard on defense, they have a chance to win every game that they’re in.”
In each contest, it is ASU’s hard ball pressure and off-ball denial that anchors them. It slows down other teams’ best players, it creates offensive opportunities for the Sun Devils off of turnovers, and most importantly for the Sun Devils, it consistently sways momentum in ASU’s favor.
